Widdershins
Widdershins was a squad mage in the 8th Legion of the Malaz 14th Army. He was with Sergeant Balm's 9th squad of medium infantry. He was described as "an odd little man".Reaper's Gale, Chapter 17 He used the Warren of Meanas.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.308 In House of Chains Widdershins was part of Adjunct Tavore Paran's punitive expedition against the Army of the Apocalypse. On the road from Aren to Raraku, his squad had done their share of the fighting, and their names were well known amongst the other soldiers in the legion.House of Chains, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.711 In The Bonehunters After the Battle of Raraku, Leoman led the Army of the Apocalypse westward to Y'Ghatan and the 14th Army followed. Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, Widdershins, Corporal Deadsmell, and Throatslitter settled in for a game of Troughs. Sergeant Balm, pessimistic of their chances, went off to create his death-mask.The Bonehunters, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.239 Adjunct Tavore Paran launched the Last Siege of Y'Ghatan by sending the army's sappers to breach the city's wall under the cover of night. The sappers were organised into groups with each group protected by a mage. Widdershins took on the role of sapper possibly for the first time ever that night, and his group included Crump, Cuttle, Maybe, and Ramp with Bottle as their mage.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.283/298 Once the walls were breached Widdershins quickly returned to Balm's squad. First into the city were the Malazan marines, followed quickly by the heavy and medium infantry. Once inside the city, the Malazans immediately came under attack from swordsmen on the ground and archers in the buildings above them.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.287-295 Balm's squad pushed forward well beyond the other Malazan troops and took cover in a building filled with bolts of silk. Throatslitter led Widdershins and Deadsmell to investigate a noise he heard upstairs while Galt and Lobe watched the street from the windows. The three soldiers discovered the walls of the entire building had been filled with olive oil. Realising what Leoman meant to do, Balm's squad attempted to report their findings to Fist Keneb. But it was too late. When enough Malazans were engaged in street fighting inside the city, Leoman sprung his trap. The city's olive oil-soaked buildings were set alight and the streets quickly became an inferno.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.301-303 Fleeing from the flames, they soon joined a mixed group of survivors from Hellian's, Fiddler's, Cord's, and Gesler's squads, who made their way to the Temple of the Queen of Dreams. Widdershins told Balm he sensed a fire elemental or godling being born amidst the firestorm.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.307-309/316/323 The mage was among the small group of soldiers who survived Y'Ghatan by tunneling their way out from under the city. They spent three days crawling on their hands and knees through the dark led by Bottle and his rat.The Bonehunters, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.368/370 In Reaper's Gale He was part of Balm's 9th squad of marines. (Information needed) In Dust of Dreams (Information needed) In The Crippled God (Information needed) History As a boy Widdershins grew up in a ramshackle shack with his parents and older brother. He had outlier blood, his father was a woodcutter, while his mother Elade performed more feminine tasks.The Crippled God, Chapter 14, US TPB p.410-412 Widdershins' father was a brute who regularly beat the boys' mother, on one such occasion he threw her through one of the shacks flimsy walls. In response one of the neighbours beat him close to death. Soon after that event Widdershins older brother ran off. When Widdershins was seven, an old Falar War veteran who sharpened his mothers knives, was murdered. Fingers of blame quickly pointed to the jealous husband of Elade, even though old Ginanse had done her no dishonour. Elade walked into the shack where her husband sat and took a knife to him, the knife Ginanse had always sharpened. After this Widdershins worked with his aunt and uncle, raising animals until the point he joined up. Master Sergeant Braven Tooth gave him his name, on account of his scrawny frame and inability to stand still.The Crippled God, Chapter 14, US TPB p.412 Notes and references Category:Bonehunters Category:Mages Category:Males Category:Soldiers Category:Y'Ghatan survivor (underground) Category:Meanas mages Category:Medium infantry Category:Sappers